


The framework.

by svevijah



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Clint Barton is a Good Dad, Everybody Lives, Gen, everybody is happy, hawkdad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-17 18:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17565623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/svevijah/pseuds/svevijah
Summary: A couple years later to the events of endgame, Clint finally manages to finish his most precious work: a set of intricated frames for some pictures of his kids taken in happy moments of their lives. — on top right of the frame there’s an empty spot, they’re still working on finding a good picture of Pietro.





	1. Cooper's fourteen birthday party.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody. I wrote this thing while running on coffee, no beta because we die like men here. This series of one shots/drabbles is inspired by an edit i made and posted here: https://bartonista.tumblr.com/post/182166274584/mcu-edits-barton-kids-a-couple-years-later-to.  
> Hope you liked it, comments would be very much appreciated!

Cooper Barton hated birthday parties, especially his owns. Sure, he loved getting presents from his uncles and aunts, yet something about having people around, chanting a song known for making people uncomfortable wasn’t really his thing. Every year his mom would ask him a week in advance what would have liked to do, and he would always say _something lowkey_ , as if getting a bit of attention for once would have been a terrible tragedy aimed to destroy that imagine of selfless young boy he’s given through all the years that dad was too busy saving the world to stay with them. He would brush it off with a _“Lila’s the one caught in the spotlight mom, let’s keep it this way”_ and his mom would have been both impressed for his thought processing and also sad for knowing far too well that quiet anger growing inside him and trying to get out through sarcastic remarks and light annoyance towards everything – he was just like his father.  
years have gone by, many things changed, yet in _very Laura fashion_ , exactly one week before his birthday, Cooper found himself sitting in the kitchen, a bowl of cereal before him and the news streaming on tv, and his mother standing by the door with a tiny smirk and a question for him.

“So, what are you going to do for your birthday?”

Cooper sighed, spoon waved in the air in the most apathic way he could act out. “Same as last year and the year before.”

Laura rolled her eyes, taking a seat in front of him. “Honey, you say that every year. I know this particular year has been a bit rough but –“

“Yeah mom, this year has been terrible and you know why?” he asked quietly, gaze fixed on the bowl. Laura didn’t answer. “I’ll tell you why. I had to see my brother fade to dust. I had to leave my sister alone, scared as hell because she couldn’t understand what was going on.” A pause and another sigh. “I know you and dad worked hard to bring us back. Thank you, really. But every time I’d try to throw a birthday party, we always had to wonder who to invite since we literally don’t any kid. What’s the point?”

Laura listened to her son, eyes a bit teary and something in her throat that wouldn’t let her speak. Cooper gave her a sad look and then shrugged his shoulder lightly. “It’s ok mum.” He said getting up. “I mean, we knew things would get rough growing up.”

Cooper put the bowl in the sink and left with a somehow bittersweet smile on his face. Laura, being the woman she was, decided right on the spot that all that madness had to be put down for good. Two days later, beyond any expectation, Clint Barton came home from a mission in Rome, an early present for his son and the hope he’d get an answer from his kid about the party.

“Dad, I don’t want to be rude, the present is cool and everything, but…” Cooper paused, nails scratching each hand’s fingers in pure anxiety. “a birthday party for a fourteen years old should have kids as well. I mean…” he sighed, scratching his head lightly. Clint looked at his son, a quirked brow and hands on the hips.

“That’s it?” he asked. “You want kids at your birthday?”

Cooper quirked a brow as well. “Yeah? I mean, aunt Nat, uncle Phil and the others are cool, but I really don’t have any friend of my age and –“

“Say no more.” Clint declared, hands waving in the air. Cooper rolled his eyes lightly, before giving his dad a quick smile and go to sleep.

In the days after, Cooper noticed something was going on. He could see by the fact that his dad was mentioning a friend from S.H.I.E.L.D. quite often for a man who was still kind of man for that stuff happened a couple years ago when aunt Nat was on tv. His mom would suddenly bring out how uncle Tony is taking kids at Stark Industries for internship, and that he’s now working with some kids named Harley and Peter.

Cooper has no idea who these kids are, yet he feels like they’d get along fine if only he could get out of the farmhouse for a week at least. Aunt Nat came home two days before his birthday, whispering something to his mom and dad about a certain Scott. Lila’s name was thrown around a couple times by both his aunt and dad, so he didn’t quite pay attention to that.

The same day, Wanda came to him asking what he knew about Wakanda. Cooper shrugged his shoulders because he couldn’t even pronounce it the right way, let alone if he knew something more about it than what the news have said.

On the day of his birthday, Cooper got up pretty early, had his usual cereal bowl for breakfast and went running around the house, took a few shots in the barn and then fed the chickens just as dad asked. Everything was too quiet and he knew his family was up to something, yet he decided that for once he just wouldn’t brag about anything.

After a quite chaotic lunch in which Wanda talked about a travel she made with Vision and how he proposed to her, Lila insisted she wanted to learn martial arts and aunt Nat talked about some renovations gone wrong that she had to fix because his dad made a mess, Cooper asked permission to get up and went out with Lucky. Let’s be clear, he adored every single one of the components of his family, yet they would all act like everything was ok and none of them was actually snapped away just a year before.

So there he was, sitting in the porch, Lucky wrapped around his feet and muffled words coming from the inside. Eventually, Lucky got quite bored though, so despite his annoyance at first, Cooper started to throw a ball and play fetch, hoping to never have to get up from the cushion he was sitting on.

As the game went on, Lucky eventually stopped playing, ball dropped on the grass and focus on the noise coming from outside the fence. Cooper got up, hand already on the door handle so that he could have jumped inside and call his dad. Eventually a black suv went out the rough road, leaving Cooper even more confused. The car parked next the barn, and right after a man and a girl were out and approaching him.

“Hey kid, I’m Scott, this is Cassie. Is your dad home?”

Cooper nodded and opened the door enough to call for his dad to come outside. Once his dad was out, Cooper noticed he greeted the man with a hand shake. The girl, Cassie, who probably was around Lila’s age, gave him a wrapped package, wished him a happy birthday and followed her dad inside.

A couple minutes after, a quinjet landed on the back of his house, and suddenly all his aunts and uncles who used to work with his dad at S.H.I.E.L.D. showered him in hugs and kisses. Cooper didn’t really expect any of them to come, but was happy about it nonetheless – and also for all the gifts they brought him. Aunt Maria stayed a few minutes more before entering inside. She promised him they would have watched the stars before going to sleep and introduced him to Ace, who was his same age and also had a bit of a troubled dad.

In the evening uncle Tony and the others arrived home. He brought Peter and Harley with him. Peter is two years older than him, while Harley is four. They talked about physics and they decided that one day they would have made a science team at Stark Industries. Uncle Tony seemed very proud of them all and Cooper had teary eyes when he found out his gift was a internship of two months in New York – _just to see if he likes it how’s life there_.

Before dinner, princess Shuri of Wakanda _graced_ them with her presence. King T’Challa was there too, and he bickered with uncle Sam the whole time. Shuri is two years older than Cooper, but she talks in vines references and loves meme, so of course Cooper kind of got a big crush on her. She probably noticed but didn’t pick at him for it, and he was very grateful.

After dinner his mom brought a big cake and uncle Steve insisted they should have taken a picture all together, even though nobody had a stick to take selfie and mum couldn’t find the camera tripods. In the end they took a very shaky selfie and dad took a picture of him smiling like he didn’t for a long time.


	2. Lila's denim jacket.

Lila Barton was known to be the most fearless girl on earth – or at least that was what auntie Nat used to tell her all the time. However, she never quite felt this much fearless; yes, her mother would tell her of that time she was four and used to jump from the last but two step and literally fly on the floor as if nothing happened – as if she couldn’t hit her face somewhere while landing and get badly hurt. Her dad would tell of how she pestered him about learning archery and how she didn’t hesitate to point an arrow straight to Loki when he suddenly appeared at the farm house just to scare them a little bit.

Everybody thinks she was fearless in these situations, yet she can’t help but remember them and shiver, for they were the moments she was scared the most.

When the snap happened, Lila felt as helpless as an eleven years old could feel. First, Nathaniel vanished in a cloud of dust, leaving behind only his glasses as if it was some kind of character from a cartoon. Then Cooper, who vanished slowly and then all together almost like when she falls asleep at night. Her mom couldn’t even make it downstairs, the way she screamed her name still echoes in Lila’s minds when it’s all dark in her room and she can’t help but stare at the ceiling restlessly.

When she vanished, her dad was coming back from walking Lucky outside. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, arms were flexed towards him, as if he could somehow pull her out from whatever was making her go away. Her dad’s face still haunts her when she loses focus on the things she’s doing and her mind automatically goes back to that moment. 

Fading away almost felt like falling asleep for her. What happened next and until she came back, it’s only remembered as a bunch of flashes and quick nightmares as she’s always used to make. Except there wasn’t her dad, her mom or auntie Nat to make her feel better with hot cocoa and biscuits.

When she came back, everything felt different yet the same. Nathaniel wouldn’t even remember what happened, Cooper was angry yet good to hide it, as usual. Her mum was acting as if nothing happened, yet Lila was quite sure she could have heard her cry in the middle of the night, just as dad used to do when they moved away from Brooklyn.

Lila never cried since she came back, and she felt quite weird for that. Her dad suggested to take her to _therapy_.  Lila wasn’t very keen on telling to a stranger all her _big secrets_ but the day before her first visit, auntie Nat told her she used to go to therapy too, and she felt a lot better right after. As she entered the door, Lila turned back to her aunt, mixed feelings heaving on her chest. However, she stayed silent, entered the room and talked her anxiety out for a good hour.

The ride back home was quite silent. Lila couldn’t help but keep her gaze on her shoes, hands picking at each other restlessly. Natasha let her have her moment to recollect before her family would storm all together upon her and drown her in the usual chaos the Bartons make.

“Auntie Nat?” she asked, voice low and slightly pitched.

“Yes honey?”

Lila stayed silent. She took a big breath and eventually looked up at the redhead. “Were you ever scared when you were a kid?”

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows, her gaze falling down slightly. She had always wanted her niece to know the good parts of her life, and sadly, most of the good came from her adulthood. However, despite being sure that by telling _the truth_ Lila’s vision of her wouldn’t have changed, she decided to tell an half truth anyway.

“Yeah, I did.”

“And what did you do?”

There were many things Natasha could have said but none of that actually mattered enough to her as to know why that question was asked.

“Are you afraid of something Lila?”

Lila’s gaze widened, and her lips were so pursed they turned white. “It doesn’t matter.”

As Natasha opened her mouth to talk, Lila was already outside the car and running towards the porch.

During dinner, Lila had been strangely silent. She would answer every now and then to questions Pietro would ask to her, or pass the salt whenever her mum asked for it. She listened as Zrinka talked about her and Pietro’s trip to Paris and rolled her eyes a bit when Costel started to kick her under the table to draw her attention on the fact that he had a brand new set of colours they could have used after eating.

After dinner, Lila sat on the sofa, a Caprisun in her hand and the remote in the other. She zapped through the channels twice and almost threw the remote against a wall when she found out her favourite show had already begun. Her therapist mentioned she’s got a bit of anger issues, but that at least she’s more willing to talk than Cooper.

Costel threw away a pillow and took a seat next to her, a brow raised in an inquisitive way. Lila raised a brow as well. She liked Costel, they had been friends since they were seven and her dad took him and his sister home with Pietro and Wanda. While the Maximoff lived under Lila’s same roof and she considered them as siblings, Costel and Zrinka had made the dependence their home. Lila thought he was a good kid all together, even though he was a bit fixated with Hawkeye and Quicksilver.

“Did you see monsters when you were _there_?” he asked, eyes wide in curiosity.

“I don’t remember much about it.” She said shrugging, eyes locked on the Caprisun he was holding that was dangerously going to collide with the sofa cushion.

“I wish I could have done that too.” Costel muttered, making a sad pout.

Lila closed her eyes for a second, even though it felt a century. Her mum taught her to be strong, and that was she had been doing since she came back. She went through sleepless nights, nightmares, anxiety and fear mostly in silence. And for what? For someone to imply she was lucky to go through that?

“Shut up.” She muttered.

“What?”

“I said _shut up_!” she yelled. Then she ran upstairs, throwing away everything on the path to her bedroom.

Clint was the first to enter in the living room, a puzzled expression on his face appeared for a second and then went upstairs. When he opened the door, followed by Laura and Natasha, he found Lila sitting under the study desk, arms hugging tightly her legs and tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Can you please explain me what is going on in your head?” he said. He knew Lila was quite smart for her age and wanted to be treated like an _adult_ , so that’s what he tried to do for once, hoping his daughter would open up to him.

“What if it comes back?” she asked, voice low and neutral.

“It comes back what?”

“I don’t want to go back there, dad.” She stated solemnly. Clint shivered.

“Are you afraid of something that was there?” he asked, trying to get under the desk as well. Lila nodded, her expression was dead serious. Clint sighed while adjusting his head and signing at Laura and Natasha to close the door.

“You know, when auntie Nat came here for the first time, she was very scared, because the place she had been before was very dark.” He began, trying to be as calm as ever. Lila looked at him curiously. “And you know, before I met grandpa Nick I was a bit scared too. And you know what he did?”

Lila shook her head no.

“He gave me a denim jacket and told me he used to wear it every time he was scared, because it had powers.”

“But grandpa Nick never wears denim jackets.”

“Yeah because he gave me the only one he had, so now he’s committed to eco-leather.” He answered quickly, making Lila giggle.

“Was it actually magic?”

Clint shrugged a little. “Dunno kid, but I felt good wearing it. And then auntie Nat arrived and was scared.”

“And what happened then?”

“I gave her the jacket and she felt a bit better too.”

Lila nodded lightly, then sighed. “I wish I had a magical denim jacket too, dad.”

Clint laughed at his daughter’s statement, then proceeded to get out from he was sitting. Once he was up, he landed Lila a hand.

“Come on kid, I’ll show you something.”

“What?”

“Just follow me.” He said quickly. Taking her hand and guiding her outside the room. In the hallway, Laura and Natasha were sitting on the first step of the staircase. Clint kept on walking waving a hand at both the women.

“Hey Nat, do you remember the denim jacket of protection?”

“You mean that hideous thing you’ve been refusing to throw away since 2000?” she asked getting up, arms crossed tight and a confused expression on her face.

“Dad, why does auntie Nat call the magic jacket hideous?” Lila asked, half walking and half running behind Clint.

“Auntie Nat is talking about the wrong jacket sweetheart.” He replied, half yelling so that Natasha could hear it as well.

“Oh, you mean _that_ jacket.” She said as if she knew what was going on. “Yeah, it’s in my closet, why?”

Clint stopped before the door dramatically, drawing everyone’s attention at this point. Lila bumped right into his arm. Natasha passed both of them and went inside the room, opened the closet and threw around a bunch of clothes before coming back with the infamous jacket.

“Here it is our magical jacket!” Clint yelled in a childish way, making Lila jump in happiness.

“Why do you need this piece of garbage again?” Natasha whispered at Clint while handing him the jacket. Clint snorted and turned to face his daughter.

“Alright, it’s a bit big for you now, but you’ll grow in it in a couple years for sure.” He stated putting the jacket on his daughter’s shoulders. Lila’s eyes shone in happiness.

“Now I can be as fearless as auntie Nat?” she asked waving her arms up in the air. Clint fixed the sleeves and put her arms down, making her frown a little.

“Last time you did that you threw one of your aids out of your ear.” He reminded her. “I still don’t understand how.” He added, pretending not to see Laura rolling her eyes.

“I hate them.” She whispered, and Clint sighed.

“Honey, uncle Tony is working on a new pair that will be way more comfortable.” He stated. “You won’t even notice you have them, I can assure you.”

Lila nodded at her dad’s words and focused her gaze on the mirror behind him. “Hey dad, can you take a picture? So we can show it to grandpa Nick, too!”

Clint gave her a smile. “Alright sweetheart.”

 

 

**2031**

 

 

Walking around the empty farmhouse is leaving a sense of nostalgia she’d never expected. Things have definitely changed for the best in her family, with her mum and dad being able to come back in Brooklyn, Cooper being dr. Foster’s intern and Nathaniel being able to attend high school in total normality as their parents always hoped for all of their kids.

As far as she knew, the farmhouse was still used every now and then by the Avengers whenever they’d feel like staying low for a while, and finding it empty had made her thank not only the gods but also the whole universe.

“How did you know about this place?” she hears from downstairs and can’t help but roll her eyes in annoyance. She’s supposed to be the agent in training, to do normal stuff and get her career going, instead she’s on the run, helping a guy who claims himself innocent but that she doesn’t even know enough to be certain it’s true.

“Because it’s _my_ house, Kozlov.”

“Maybe I should become an Avenger.” She hears again. “I mean if they pay you enough to buy a house this big…”

“Kozlov, this house has been property of my family for ages. It was my great grandparents’. And then my grandparents’.” She begins, quickly running downstairs to face the man she’s with. “And then it was my uncle’s and once he got into prison was my dad’s.” a pause and she hands him a shirt and a pair of jeans. “Do we really have to have this conversation now?”

The man shakes his head no, although a playful smile has appeared on his face.

“My dad’s shirts used to fit even on Captain America, so they should be ok on you as well. Functioning bathroom’s upstairs on the left. There’s another in the hallway, third door, but my dad never fixed it… _of course_.”

Nodding in silence, the man throws a hand on his head, slowly combing his hair. “Look, Barton, I’m sorry.”

Lila sighs heavily, shaking her head. “That’s what my dad would do. I think.” She states solemnly, waving a hand towards the stairs. The man gives her a nod and makes his way upstairs.

“Hey Kozlov, how do you feel about mac and cheese?” she asks, head tilted towards the kitchen. “Because that’s the only proper food I’ll probably manage to cook.”

Agent Kozlov, or what is left of him after the shitshow he was involved in Manhattan, gives her a tired smile and a shrug of his shoulders. “Mac and cheese is more than perfect.”

As he makes his way towards the bathroom, Lila hears him say “By the way that denim jacket is hella cool, you know?” and she can’t help but smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Here it is the second chapter, hope you liked it. As you probably have understood, Lila is my favourite Barton, so I put a glimpse of her "present" in this chapter. The events narrated in the 2031 part are strictly linked to something I've been writing and that maybe I'll post sometime lol. Comments and opinions are well accepted :)


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